I haven't read about that much blood since Dexter, and that's a lot. Practically everyone dies in this book, there couldn't have been anyone left in that town after the Continental Op's done with it! Although some of the sayings are too dated even for me to get, and the plot was extremely convoluted, I found this an excellent read. The whole hard-boiled, spare writing really drove the book forward.
David Hewson. Interesting if kinda weak plot, ok characters but couldn't get them 3-dimensional. The writing is sorta hideous, though. Not the worst I've read, but pretty down there.
Some psycho is running around killing people in the style of the Catholic martyrs, and they all happen to have known the same woman, who's some gorgeous but aloof and secretive babe. Two partners thrust together unwillingly get involved in the case, and adventure ensues. Set in Rome, which was nice.
Ever since I saw the movie "Devil in A Blue Dress" I had the book series on my list. So I was very excited when I reached it, and I blew through Little Scarlet, Cinnamon Kiss, and Blonde Faith (the last three in the series in order) and wanted MORE!!! I'm so sad the series was over, although I'm also very pleased with the decision to go out on top of the game.
Very well written books, very evocative and atmospheric period L.A., with a fascinating character. The mysteries are slightly weak in plot, but very forgivable.
Loved, loved, loved.
Excellent!!! Just finished watching the last in the three-part series, and I'm very happy. Very well done, very entertaining, well thought out. All the characters work, and they managed to convey a little victoriana feel to the modern setting without being ham-fisted about it.
Glad it seems well-received and popular, so hopefully that ensures a new series will be out soon.
ARRRRRGGGGHHHH! Just finished watching most of Wallander's Morkret, and AGAIN....the station froze at the last ten minutes. Gee, caught all the credits, though. Can't find video anywhere legitimate, anyone who's watched it, PLEASE tell us the ending. I promise, I won't publish it public, we'll just read and delete so no-one gets it spoiled for them.
Men are disappearing and being killed in strange, brutal ways. Wallander and the team methodically investigate each murder, coming to the horrifying conclusion that they're all the work of a single person. I really enjoyed reading this next installation, although the book sprawled a bit - the writing could have been tighter. But I loved Wallander and the team - their methods, strengths and weaknesses. I loved that they seem real and flawed. There's no perfect Holmes investigators here, just a regular bunch of overworked and exhausted cops who overlook or miss things entirely, just like real people.
I hate to admit this, but a similar book, Woman With Birthmark, was written more skillfully and was the better read, despite my lukewarm feelings for Van Veeteren. Translation or author? Unsure.
On KCSM, starring Trond Espen Seim. A wealthy couple hires Veum, a PI, to locate and return their runaway daughter, Lisa. He promises to take her to the hospital after a brief stop at her parents, but they prevent her leaving. The neighbors then accost him and beg him to find their son.
Despite his refusal, he ends up looking for the kid, and finds him stabbed to death in a hotel room. Lisa seems to have been the last one to have seen him, and the prime suspect. He seems to have a very soft spot for her, and protects her while trying to find the killer. The cops suspect the obvious - he was in deep debt to the local thug, the Mink. But Veum suspects it's a completely different crime, with a deeper motive.
Veum is a real trip! We both liked him. The man has balls, especially during the confrontation with the Mink. Like similar TV characters, he shares a single-minded borderline-obsessive trait for going after the truth despite the cost. He also brings a charming dry wit. We like the Seim actor, but don't know if he's portrayed like the books - no Swedish readers here.
Looking forward to more!
I didn't expect such a fast read. Done in one sitting couple nights ago. And I had to read it in English, since I couldn't get a French copy earlier, and I was very curious.
It was very good. The mystery itself is excellent and engrossing. I was really engaged in unraveling the many threads, and was constantly and pleasantly working out what was going on. There's several weaknesses, like the impossibility that only one woman ever sees the guy drawing that many circles.
The narrative itself is a slow, leisurely stroll among a lot of colorful characters, with lots of tangential witticisms and general observations on life and the human condition. Since I was in the mood, they were fun, but I could see it getting irritating.
Adamsberg is really interesting. He doesn't do conventional detective work, but instead figures things out through osmosis. He seems really vague and unfocused, both in his methods and as a character. Not sure yet if I like this or not. But I definitely want to continue reading the series.
This was so unbearably sad I almost choked a couple times, even more than VV's Woman with Birthmark. Both stories are similar both in plot and narrative. Told from both Wallander's and the murderer's points of view, it really does add the criminal character development lacking in his previous book. Branagh's Wallander version is different from the book.
Wallander gets a call to a farmer's field for a suspicious-acting person. After he arrives, observes, then tries to talk to the girl, she sets herself on fire. While he's reeling from the shock and searching for a reason, a particularly violent murder occurs. A prominent former politician gets whacked and scalped. Then another. And another.
The team races to find the connection between all the murders, while Wallander insists on continuing the ID for the girl in the field. The deaths all end up intersecting in a horrific way.
Loved it! I was so frustrated and just knew that this guy was going to get away with it. I kept waiting anxiously as each layer of the onion was slowly peeled back, and it seemed like there'd be no end to it. The ending was somewhat contrived and improbable, but I can live with it.
Wallander's in fine form in this book, and I just love how he thinks. He's so contradictory and human: smart but does idiotic things, capable team leader yet runs off half-cocked by himself often, strong yet weak and doubtful of his personal strength.
There were the usual weaknesses as in previous Wallanders: I wish there had been better character development of the bad guy - I couldn't get a handle on him at all - did he become that cold over time, or was he always like that? I had a hard time believing that a low-ranked guy like Wallander was able to get access to such a prominent person.
After his last case, Wallander's been on leave for over a year, on the edge of a nervous breakdown. Out of the blue, an old lawyer friend desperately seeks him out at the edge of the world he's been hiding out in, and insists that his father's death was not an accident. Soon after, Wallander decides to quit the force, only to find out when he returns home that his friend's also been killed, which propels him back to work after all. His investigation leads to one of the richest, most powerful guys in Sweden whose ruthlessness has no bounds.
Book came in the mail today! Tip from Euro Crime. Can't wait to read it after L'homme aux cercles bleus.
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| From Daily Meanderings |
Starring Krister Henriksson. This one was the best to date! Both Hubby and I were guessing the guy's next move, each more sneaky and calculated and freaky. The man was a consummate chess player, 10 moves ahead. It was really cool when the villain was revealed as being a character from a previous case in one of the books, rewarding followers with a tidy bit of insider knowledge.
A series of strange but seemingly insignificant incidents start happening: a call-out for what seems to be a human head but is instead a mannequin's, Wallander's gas tank is drained, Martinsson's tires get slashed. But the last incident - a callout by a neighbor for a domestic disturbance that turns into a discovery of a dead body - announces a deadly game by someone out for revenge. But against whom? And why? The team races to identify the killer before he strikes again, this time too close to home.
Someone's running around town killing men with two shots each to the head and groin. Sounds a bit personal. Van Veeteren and his team race to find the connections between the men, and who might be next in the group of "as-yet-not-murdered".
